The Determinants of Family Spending on Academic Tutoring and Other Extracurricular Activities for Children

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Beyond Test Score Value Added: Equitable Access to Socio-Emotional, Extracuricular, and Disability Supports

Abstract

How do families respond to the signals they receive from their local public school system by spending on children? Supplementary education spending could help close the gap between public spending and desired provision. Families could also respond to performance or behavioral signals about a student by spending on tutoring, music lessons, or athletics programs. This study characterizes the determinants of supplemental spending. We use a subsample of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the Child Development Survey, which breaks down supplementary spending by type. We combine those data with data from the Common Core of Data to examine the extent to which families adjust supplemental spending in response to public provision and to a child’s own test performance and behavior.

Authors

• Thomas Downes, Tufts University

• Kieran M. Killeen, The University of Vermont